The Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) made the short trip down across the U.S. Mexico Border to host Rounds 3 & 4 at Estero Beach & Resort in Ensenada, Mexico. With two days of racing, this means professional short course racer; Brandon Arthur would have his hands full fielding the #6 MAVTV, Stronghold Motorsports, Pro Traffic Services, Toyo Tires Pro 2 Truck, and also racing the #906 Textron WildCat XX Production 1000 UTV. It was a challenging weekend, with rough racing on the beach. However, Arthur gave it his all and collected a 4th place finish in the UTV, and placed 5th in the Pro 2. Brandon also was able to complete Round 4 on Sunday with another 7th place finish.

“Well I had a blast down in Mexico, but not exactly the results we were hoping for,” Arthur admitted. “I am still trying to dial in the setups. As well as getting comfortable with the truck and the level of competition.”

Brandon had never raced either vehicle at this track, so there are zero field notes to tune the truck to optimal performance. Another factor is that the "Beach Track" at Estero is unique in many aspects. The racing compound has mixed elements, and the track is flat with no elevation rises. Simply put, it is a rough track that gets rutted out, making the door to door racing difficult & very challenging for all competitors.

The atmosphere of being at the beach in Mexico and racing in a town that loves off-road racing makes up for the other issues. This is the 5th time the LOORRS Series has come down and this event seems to be a favorite for many drivers on the schedule including Arthur. “I am excited to get on the track here in Estero,” Brandon shared early on during setup. “The MAVTV Pro 2 is ready for practice. It will be our first time around the track with this truck, so we will see how it goes!”

Everything went as well as could be expected and by the time qualifying came around Arthur was recording lap time good enough for mid-pack results. "I just finished up qualifying. We ended up 6th in the Pro 2 and 5th fastest in Textron WildCat XX UTV.”

Saturday’s Production 1000 UTV race started off Round 3 for Brandon. Everything was going well until it was not. “I had a good run going in the race,” Arthur explained. “I got a great start and was running in 4th place looking at making my way towards podium position. Right before the halfway point and competition caution, the drive belt failed and ended our race early." Being Brandon's first DNF in the UTV.

Not one to stay down, not to mention there is not much downtime, Arthur changed modes to get ready for the next race. The Pro 2 race is considered the main event with the sport’s top drivers looking to stake an early claim on points for 2019 rankings. “I started the race in 5th position and got a great start,” commented Brandon. “I slipped up in the rough making a mistake in Turn 4 then got pushed out. I got tangled up with another truck which moved us to the back. On the halfway re-start, I was focused on making up lost ground. I climbed back up to where I started the race and fought it out to the end for a 5th place finish. I will take that Top 5 but also as a lesson learned because, without those mistakes, I believe I could have finished on the podium. There is a lot of learning happening this weekend down in Mexico.

Sunday’s Round 4 and Day 2 meant fresh starts and a chance for redemption. Arthur had the #906 Textron WildCat XX turned around and ready to pound out a brawling beach bash. “It’s always all about the starts. You have to get good starts to finish good,” declared Brandon. “I got a good start, but it was the rhythm section that I struggled to get through. Every time around the track, I would make good ground but then lose it all bouncing through there. I was holding on to a top 5, but then had contact from another car which gave us a flat right before the halfway caution. I went into the hot pits our amazing crew got it changed before we went back to green. I battled it out all the way until the white flag, then the checkers and picked up a 4th place finish.”

For the last race of the weekend, Arthur wanted to get aggressive and do whatever it took for a podium. Unfortunately, the qualifying session did not go his way, so that meant Arthur was going to have to pull out some tricks from his sleeves. The teamed decided to make a significant adjustment to tighten up the setup and see if they could make it better for the race to squeeze out some extra speed around the super flat track. "Unfortunately we ended up going the wrong direction,” Brandon shrugged. “I had a hard time driving the truck, but we ended up coming home with a 7th place finish. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain, so in my opinion it was worth it. I have a baseline and notes to benchmark our performance, and as long as we are moving forward, we are going in the right direction. We will have to put our heads down and do some more homework before we head out to Wheatland for the next race.”

About Brandon Arthur
Brandon Arthur has achieved two championships and a rookie of the year award in his diverse racing career. A fan favorite, he won the 2012 HDRA, 1400 championship in a truck he built from his grandfather’s F-100 that was used on the farm. In 2013, he ran select races in his Pro Traffic Services HRT Motorsports Trophy Truck capturing a victory in its first time out. In 2014, his rookie year of Pro Lite competition in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, he ran consistently fast; posting a victory and several top finishes. Brandon is a skilled builder and mechanic in addition to his talent behind the wheel. Since entering the Pro Lite class, Brandon has been on a steady climb finishing 3rd place in the points championship in 2015, and then 2nd in 2016. Brandon has won over a substantial fan base and established himself as a threat to win, every time he takes to the track. In 2019, he will be competing for a championship in a Pro 2 and UTV Production 1000.

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